As a mother, my concern is always giving my children a well balanced diet. Making sure their food is not laden with starch or completely devoid of healthy fats. Ensuring they are getting minerals a vitamins without overdoing the calories (fat kids are not necessarily healthy kids). This is because I am an educated mother, and fortunate enough to have resources to do this for my family.
Unfortunately, in Pakistan the number of malnourished children is alarmingly high. And one does not think of this sitting in the comfort of one’s home unless someone raises an alarm.
Nestlé Pakistan recently celebrated second Annual Nestlé Healthy Kids Day, a global initiative by Nestlé that plans to educate kids about the importance of healthy nutrition and good hygiene. The program is curriculum based and covers topics of healthy eating, nutrition, hygiene and the importance of Physical activity.
Through tableaus, art exhibitions, and speech competitions, children from Nestlé’s partner schools raised awareness of a very important subject. Little do many know that Iodine and Iron deficiencies are the highest when it comes to malnutrition amongst children in our country, followed by protein energy, and food companies must play an active role in educating families about the detrimental affects of such nutritional shortages in a growing child’s body.
This is why over the last two years NHK has doubled its impact & made this a national program. Under the NHK program, Nestlé has reached out to more than 100,000 children in Pakistan alongside the training of 427 teachers. A total of 10 institutes in Punjab, the Federal Capital, Kyber Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh have partnered with Nestlé in order to forge a bright and healthy future for the kids of Pakistan.
